Jarno Trulli – Chapman Report Online

November 14, 2010

Mission Accomplished

Lotus Racing secured its primary goal of tenth place in the 2010 FIA Formula One™ World Championship when Heikki Kovalainen finished the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 17th place. Jarno Trulli’s race came to an unfortunate end on lap 51 and finished in the garage after his car suffered a rear wing failure with just three laps left.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-03) 17th, fastest lap 1.45.378: “What a fantastic end to our season. The race itself was just great, right from when the lights went out. I got the best start of the season, made up places immediately and from that point on I just got my head down and got on with it. Everything went perfectly according to plan. The tyres weren’t really degarding and as the car got lighter and the fuel burnt away I was able to keep putting in what felt like qualifying laps throughout the whole race. I was able to pull away a gap to the cars behind me and we managed the traffic really well all race. After I came out of the pits I had to let a few cars past which cost me several seconds, but that wasn’t a problem as I could keep pulling away from my direct rivals. This is the perfect way to end our first season, and gives us a huge boost for next year. We finished on a high, achieved all our goals and we have a very exciting future ahead of us. Thank you to the whole team for a fantastic season – I can’t wait for next year.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-02) DNF, fastest lap 1.45.979: “First of all congratulations to the whole team. Everyone has done an amazing job this year and while it’s been long and tough, for a brand new team it’s been special. My race was one of the ones I’ll want to forget. I had a problem with the front wing to begin with, and then a rear wing failure finished the race so I’m pretty glad it’s over! This year I’ve had all sorts of bad luck but I’m very confident about next year as the package that’s been put together is very good and it gives everyone in the team a chance to take the next step forward.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Job done. When we started out on this project the first target was to be best of the new teams. When you think how late our entry was confirmed that was always going to be a good challenge, but we have done it. We gave Tony, Din and Nasa tenth place and that makes me very proud of the whole team. On a personal level I’d like to thank my partner Silvi. We did this together and I could not have done it without her or the whole team. However, this is just the beginning. Next year what is important is the steps we take forward, but for tonight we will enjoy the achievement. We have earned it.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I am completely relieved, completely ecstatic, completely happy and completely vindicated in making the decision to go into F1™. What we have achieved today is what dreams are made of. To complete 19 races after having just five months to build a car and finish in tenth in style is something that is truly magical. It shows you that even in the modern age where money and power counts for so much, there is a chance for ambition and dreams to shine. 2010 is a year that we can be proud of. We brought Lotus back into F1™™ after many had talked about it, but we did it. I can confidently say that everyone associated with the Lotus history can be very proud of what we have done this year. This is the first chapter of a long career ahead and we will create our own future, destiny and history from here. I am thankful to all the incredibly special staff we have in Hingham, Malaysia and here in Abu Dhabi for what they have done this year and my abiding memory of 2010 comes from one of our engineers, who told me he had achieved higher grid positions with other teams, but never with a team that feels as special as this. To all the Lotus fans thank you so much for your support – we could not have done it without you. I am thrilled that Lotus Racing has opened up F1™™ to everyone out there, and we cannot wait to see you next year.”

November 12, 2010

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Preview

Lotus Racing are now back in the middle-east for the last race of the 2010 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The team is in buoyant mood after another solid performance in Sao Paulo saw them tighten their grip on tenth place in the Championship, moving ever closer to achieving their primary goal in their debut season.

The Lotus Racing story is nothing short of spectacular. The team has already won an army of fans worldwide, gained huge respect within the notoriously tough F1 paddock and in the wider commercial world, and gone from a workforce of just four in September 2009 to over 200 now, all focused on taking a major step forward in 2011 to take on and beat the established teams ahead.

Fairuz Fauzy (driving in place of Heikki Kovalainen in FP1): “I’m looking forward to getting back in the car and I think it will be a very special atmosphere, on track and in the garage. The twilight running obviously makes the race very interesting, but as I’ll be going out in FP1 the real challenge for me is to try and push on what will be a very green track. I’ve spent a bit of time in a simulator to prepare for the run on Friday, but it will obviously be different when I get out on the real thing.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “Abu Dhabi is a great track and I like the fact we race in the fading light. I think it will be a good fight up at the front, and for us it’s the end of a very long, but so far very rewarding season. Everyone in the team has done really well all year, pushing us along to where we are now, and this weekend is all about maintaining concentration and giving it one final effort before we start focusing entirely on next year. I’m excited about the race and I think we’ll be in good shape to keep up the pressure on the guys around us.”

Jarno Trulli: “It’s the last race but for me it’s still all about getting my car across the finish line with Heikki so we can tie up tenth place. The track isn’t a huge challenge – it’s not as rewarding to drive on as somewhere like Brazil, but we’ll be ok there as our car should be pretty much as far ahead of those around us as we have been in the last few races.”

Mike Gascoyne: “Down to the last race and I don’t think we could be going there in any better shape. Abu Dhabi should be another track where we can take the fight to our nearest rivals, and all season long we have seen that the investment in experience throughout the whole team has held us in very good stead in our first season. You could see in Brazil that both Heikki and Jarno were able to pull away from Timo throughout the race, and that is down to excellent work all year by the team at the track and the factory, and in the two cockpits, and we are aiming for that to be repeated at the last race. The goal is obviously to finish tenth, and we would like to do that in the same style we have shown all season – by beating those around us, so everyone will be putting in one last big effort to repay the faith shown in us by our fans all year and everyone who has helped us reach this point of the season.”

Tony Fernandes: “As we approach the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix I feel a great sense of accomplishment and delivery. In just one year we have delivered a team that has presented itself and behaved like one that has been racing for a long time. We made the bold decision to bring in two experienced drivers who have helped us push our way up as quickly as possible, on and off track, and from the earliest days of our team we have respected the heritage of Colin Chapman and his family and treated them both with the honour and style they deserve. It will be an incredible feeling to see the culmination of our first season back at another track where the Lotus Racing dream took shape. We came to the 2009 race, and while I hoped then that we would be where we are now, I could not have predicted we would have come quite as far as we have. Our future is extremely exciting. We have everything in place to take a big step forward next year, and I truly believe we have already exceeded our own expectations in our first season. For a team that had only five months to build our first car, as well as an entire race team and factory, we can hold up our heads up high to our fans, the Chapman family, the paddock fraternity and most importantly, to ourselves. There has been a huge amount of discussion about Lotus re-entering Formula One for the first time since 1994, but we spent this year looking ahead and not engaging in the talk about bringing the Lotus brand back. We went about our business in our own unassuming way, letting our actions speak louder than our words, and we will continue to do just that. We have a unique style and will always stay true to that as we move forward, up to the ultimate position of one day being World Champions.”

November 3, 2010

Brazilian Grand Prix Preview

Round 18 of the FIA Formula One™ World Championship sees the pack head to Brazil for the only South American leg of the season and one of the sport’s classic venues; Sao Paulo. The punishing end-of-season calendar sees the Brazilian Grand Prix race back to back with the season-ending event in Abu Dhabi, but before heading to the Middle-East Lotus Racing is looking to take another step closer to securing its place as the best of the 2010 new teams at the technical Brazilian circuit.

Heikki Kovalainen: “We had another good result in Korea and we’ll be looking to carry that form through to Brazil and Abu Dhabi. The Sao Paulo circuit is a good challenge. There’s quite a few overtaking points, and a few different lines into some of the corners so you’ll see people attacking each other throughout the whole lap, and particularly at turn one. At the start of the race that corner is pretty critical and there’s always a few guys taking different lines through there. Some go high, some low, but the main thing to think about is that when there are five cars going through there together you’ve just got to do whatever you can to make sure you fit through the gaps and come out unscathed.

“It’s a pretty hardcore end to the season and I’ll make sure I’m properly prepared by resting a bit and then I’ll do enough training to adjust to the time changes, flight times and the races themselves. To be honest, it’s easier for me than it is for many other people in the team. The last couple of races require a massive push from everyone to setup the garages, go racing and then pack up everything and relocate to Abu Dhabi. By the end of the season we will have all earned some time off, but we have to make sure we stay focused on securing tenth place, and for the next couple of races that’s what it’s all about.”

Jarno Trulli: “I’m heading to the USA for a few days to try and acclimatise to the time change, relax and do a bit of training in preparation for the last two races. Brazil is a good circuit to drive on, it’s one of my favourite tracks. I’ve always enjoyed myself there and the atmosphere is great, but it’s not a place where I’ve had a great deal of luck in the races, so hopefully that will change this year. The start is crucial, but if you can get through that without any problems, the rest of the lap is pretty rewarding. There’s none of the long straight / first gear hairpins that you have on quite a few of the modern tracks, so you can get into a good rhythm and really lean on the car into the corners. My best result there was fourth in 2000, and while I know repeating that is obviously unlikely, our goal will be to get both cars across the finish line and go to Abu Dhabi still as the best of the new teams.”

Mike Gascoyne: “Korea was another good result for us and now we are looking to take that performance through to Brazil. We have two races left this year, and while it will be a pretty tough two weeks for the whole team, it is the same for everyone in the pitlane and we have the experience and the determination to make sure we are in the right position to capitalise on whatever opportunities arise on track. It has been very satisfying this season to see that we have taken full advantage of all the races where there have been a high number of incidents, like Japan and Korea, and that is down to good people working effectively on the pitwall, in the garages and in the cars, and we will make sure we do not let that slip in Brazil or Abu Dhabi.”

Tony Fernandes: “I left Korea on an absolute high. It was an amazing race and it was crucial that we took advantage of the high attrition rate to finish as high as we did. Jarno had put in a very strong performance on Friday and Saturday, particularly in qualifying where he put in a great lap to beat Timo, but his run of bad luck struck again in the race and he did not have the chance to show what he could do. Heikki had an eventful race, and performed brilliantly to take 13th place, and performances like that, and from the whole team all weekend, have helped us consolidate our position as best of the new teams throughout the season.

“Unfortunately I will not be in Brazil, but I will be watching every second of the race weekend from home. With Abu Dhabi straight afterwards, and a long journey between the two, it will be a hard couple of weeks for everyone in the team, but they are all determined to keep up their concentration levels and workrate to make sure we finish the season on a high. Throughout the year I have seen what a talented, dedicated team we have in Lotus Racing, and that gives me the confidence to know we are in the best possible position to achieve our goals in 2010, and give us the platform to take a step up next year and in seasons beyond.”

[press release from Lotus Racing]

November 3, 2010

Korean Grand Prix Review

An historic race in Korea came to an end in the dark with Lotus Racing’s Heikki Kovalainen taking advantage of an incident packed race to finish in 13th place. Team mate Jarno Trulli’s race again came to an early conclusion with hydraulic issues on lap 25, but the team now head to Brazil still at the head of the new teams after some excellent work on and off track all weekend.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-03) 13th, fastest lap 1.55.018 – lap 43: “It was another excellent result for the team today. In tricky conditions like that with people making mistakes, we could have seen our tenth position under threat, but we were there at the end and that is what counts. I really enjoyed the race, and didn’t really have any problems that we couldn’t deal with – the team made the right calls throughout and that put us in a strong position at the end of the race. It was obviously pretty dark when we finished, but that was the same for everyone. Now we head to Brazil and we have two more races to secure our place as the best of the new teams this year.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-02) DNF, fastest lap 2.05.161 – lap 20: “It was a disappointing day but I’m pleased that the team has taken another step towards tenth. I felt that there was a possible hydraulics problem when we were behind the safety car as the power steering was starting to feel very heavy. I really struggled to turn in at the first corner and had a spin, and despite the team trying to get me back out it was all over.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “First of all it was great that we could go racing and give all the Korean fans and everyone who has put so much effort into making this race happen the show they wanted to see. They were rewarded with an historic event, with the race finishing in the dark and some excellent action up and down the field. For us it was a day of mixed fortunes – a great finish once again as best of the new teams and Heikki drove a great race in the very tricky conditions, but disappointing for Jarno that he suffered another hydraulic issue that brought his race to an early end. But overall a great weekend for us. We qualified and finished as best of the new teams and maintained our tenth place, which was always our main goal.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “That was extremely tense for me. Of all the 17 races we have had this season, that was by far the most nerve wracking, and I feel like I was put through the ringer throughout the whole afternoon. Today shows the true mettle of this team. Heikki drove a fantastic race, and even though he also had a possible hydraulic issue with about 20 laps to go, he battled through that, and a superb performance from the race team kept him out there to make sure he was on track at the end of the race to take 13th. We are edging ever closer to that tenth place, and even though Jarno suffered more hydraulic problems, we have taken steps to change that for next year, and it is experiences like today that will stand us in good stead for next season and beyond.”

[press release from Lotus Racing]

October 20, 2010

Korean Grand Prix Preview

Next stop South Korea. Marking another first in F1™ history, the 2010 Championship now moves to the brand new Yeongam circuit for round 17 of the 2010 FIA Formula One™ World Championship – the Korean Grand Prix. Lotus Racing head to the recently finished track in buoyant mood, having recorded their best ever finish at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix when Heikki Kovalainen brought his T127 home 12th, with teammate Jarno Trulli just behind in 13th.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-03): “I left Suzuka on Monday morning still buzzing after such a great race. I said then that the car was just fantastic to drive, and all drivers pray for days like that – it meant so much to the whole team, and our fans, for us to go one better than we did in Australia. That sort of result gives us a huge boost as the season draws towards the end, particularly because we were so far ahead of both Virgins – while they have kept updating their car at each race, we’ve been working on 2011 and haven’t updated our car since Silverstone, so to stay that far ahead is a major result.

“I’m looking forward to Korea. It’s new for all of us, and while I’ve had a bit of a look at the layout, the first couple of laps will be all about finding the right lines, and then we will focus on setups. To be honest, it won’t take long to get to grips with the track and I think the car will be ok there. It’s a pretty typical modern circuit – a couple of long straights with heavy braking at the end, and then a mix of a few tighter corners and a couple more quicker ones, so we should be about where we were in Japan. If I get another set of tyres like my second set in Suzuka it’ll be great, but whatever happens, we’re closer to tenth in the Championship now, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127 – 04): “I really enjoyed Japan but it was good to get home! The whole team performed really well over the weekend, and we took a big step towards the end goal of tenth, so everyone left happy.

“Korea looks pretty good – Some drivers use simulators or even games to take a look at the lines, but I usually find my way around a new venue by running a few laps of the track on the Thursday. It’s a good way to work out the stresses of the plane journey, and you get a view of where the braking and turn-in points are. Whatever happens, after a couple of laps I’ll know my way around and where I can push, so it doesn’t take long to acclimatise.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Looking back to Japan, we could not really have had a better weekend. I think both Jarno and Heikki managed to extract every bit of performance they could from the cars, and that showed in our advantage over our nearest rivals in qualifying and in the race. We made a couple of announcements before the race about next year that showed how ambitious we really are, and there are more to come, but for now we go to Korea in a very positive frame of mind.

“It is always a bit of a step into the unknown when you go to a new venue, but we have completed a number of simulation programs at the factory that have given us a pretty good idea of how the car will behave on track. The big unknowns are what downforce levels to run, and how the track surface will stand up to the rigours of a full race weekend. We will find the right setup over the weekend, and any track issues are out of our control – it has been passed by the FIA so we will just go there and do our best. If there are any problems, it will be the same for everyone, so we cannot waste time worrying about what might happen – we will just focus on bringing both cars home in the race and taking another step closer to the end of the season.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I am still smiling from what happened in Japan. The whole team deserved a result like that, and we were able to capitalise on what was a pretty crazy race by being in the right place at the right time. That was down to having experienced drivers who kept out of trouble on track and drove brilliantly all weekend, a team on the pitwall who made the right calls to give us the chance to grab 12th and 13th, and guys in the garage who put in the hard work to help us stay well ahead of our competition – all in all it was a fantastic team effort.”

[Press Release from Lotus Racing]

September 13, 2010

Lotus Racing – Italian Grand Prix review

Lotus Racing will move on to the Singapore Grand Prix having had a strong weekend that unfortunately did not repay the team with the race result they had hoped for from the Italian Grand Prix. Heikki Kovalainen finished the race in 18th and Jarno Trulli recorded a DNF. Jarno had made a good start and was comfortably leading the other new teams until a gearbox failure on the 46th lap forced him to pull over.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) 18th, fastest lap 1.27.822 – lap 50, 1 stop – lap 23: “I lost a few positions at the start, managed to get in front of di Grassi but then was stuck behind Timo. I didn’t have the straight line speed to get past him so didn’t have the chance to make a move. It’s a shame because I couldn’t get the true potential out of the car after a good weekend, but that’s life. We haven’t lost anything in terms of the Championship so all in all it’s not too disappointing.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) DNF, fastest lap 1.29.017 – lap 30, 1 stop – lap 25: “It was a very good race until the gearbox problem meant I had to stop. I lost second gear and even though I continued running without second, it gave up completely which ended the race. But I must say that the race had been very satisfying until that point. I was pulling away from Timo and the guys behind and was increasing the lead with every lap, and the car felt great right from the start. But this seems to be the story of the season – we’ll go to Singapore and hope my luck improves there.”

Dieter Gass, Sporting Director: “A bit of an unfortunate race today after a strong weekend. Heikki lost position at the start – he managed to pass di Grassi but couldn’t get past Timo after a good fight. Jarno had a strong race until we ran into gearbox trouble. He lost second, then the whole gearbox, which brought his race to an end. Now we move on to Singapore and we’ll fight back there.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “One has to be philosophical after today’s race, and focus on the fact we had a very good weekend. It’s obviously disappointing that we had yet another gearbox failure on Jarno’s car as he was comfortably pulling away from his nearest rivals until he had to pull over. Heikki had an unfortunate start, and that meant his whole race was compromised as he was stuck behind Timo and couldn’t pass. Despite that, it’s been a good weekend for the team. We’ve made some important decisions about next year, and we’ll build on what we’ve learnt here and come back fighting.”

[press release from Lotus Racing]

August 30, 2010

Lotus Racing Belgian Grand Prix

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa lived up to all expectations and produced an incident packed race that saw Lotus Racing again finish ahead of their nearest rivals. Heikki Kovalainen recovered from a slow start to finish 16th, and Jarno Trulli crossed the line in 19th, a spin late on dropping him back a few places after he had put in a very strong performance in the constantly changing weather conditions.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) 16th, fastest lap 1.55.797 – lap 23, 3 stops – laps 1, 3, 33: “I had a bit of a problem at the start when the engine bogged down, and I activated the anti-stall, but I was already being passed by the time I could get up to speed. The rain had started and unfortunately I damaged my front wing in the last turn so I had to pit. We took a gamble with the inters but the rain stopped, so I had to come back in and I lost out to the group ahead of me. After that it was a question of doing the best job I could, and keeping us in with a chance of taking advantage of the rain at the end, and as it turned out we managed to pick up a few places at the end and finish 16th.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) 19th, fastest lap 1.55.103 – lap 24, 1 stop – lap 33: “It was pretty exciting out there, an eventful race where lots of things happened, but that’s normal for Spa! At the start I went wide to avoid Heikki and unfortunately was overtaken by a couple of other cars. After that I was struggling a bit in the early stages with my rear tyres overheating – fortunately they came back so I could started pushing and managed to pull away from the guys behind, so that was a good stint until the rain came. I had quite a big margin over my nearest competitor so I was looking pretty good, but then the safety car came out. At the restart I was following the other cars but obviously the visibility was very poor and I made a bit of an error on a high speed corner, touched the white line with the rear end of the car and it just slipped away from me, which meant I lost places. I continued, but then the race was over from there. I’m glad we got both cars home, and it’s good to see we’ve still got an advantage over our nearest rivals, so bring on Monza!”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “An exciting race and a typically eventful one here in Spa. Neither driver had a great start which meant we lost a few places, and Heikki had a problem when the rain started. We changed him onto intermediates, but were then a little slow in changing him back, but he drove a great race, and was quick at the end in the wet conditions, and he again brought us home best of the new teams. Jarno drove a strong race. He struggled initially with the tyres, but in the middle part of the race his pace was very strong, and it’s just a shame that he had a spin in the difficult wet conditions as it would have been nice to have had both cars finish ahead of the other new guys. But despite that, both cars finished and overall this has been a good weekend for the whole team.”

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: “I feel great. I think we achieved what we wanted to do – we got both cars home and we’re still ahead of the other new teams. It’s a bit unfortunate that Jarno spun out, but it’s all part of racing. He recovered well and I think we’ll all move on from this point and feel confident we can put in a good performance in Monza, and the remaining races. I think the team did great today and there was maximum effort involved, so well done to everyone. The rain of course threw everything out of sync, but we survived it today and we’re really happy.”

[press release from Lotus Racing]

August 1, 2010

A Day in the Hungarian Sunshine

Lotus Racing enjoyed an excellent day in the heat of the Hungarian Grand Prix with Heikki Kovalainen finishing 14th and Jarno Trulli just behind in 15th. A very exciting race, full of incidents throughout the grid, saw the Anglo / Malaysian squad firmly consolidate their position at the top of the new team chart, sending the team into the summer break full of confidence for the challenges that lay ahead when the Championship reconvenes in late August.

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) 14th, fastest lap 1.27.457 – lap 64, 1 stop – lap 15: “A great day for the team, and a great job from everyone to get us home in 14th and 15th. I think that was the maximum we could have hoped for, so we’re all really pleased. Despite starting behind Timo we were confident we could overtake him, and that’s how it panned out. My own race was fairly straightforward. I dropped a few places at the start but when the safety car came in I was brought straight in to pit and it worked out well as I jumped a couple of guys ahead. From then I was controlling my pace to the end, and making sure I didn’t make any mistakes. We head into the break very satisfied with how we performed today, and that’s great for the whole team.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) 15th, fastest lap 1.27.429 – lap 58, 1 stop – lap 20: “It’s a great day for the team. All weekend I’ve been strong, and today’s two car finish shows how hard the team’s been working. I made a very good start and managed to gain three places, and once I got ahead of Timo it was pretty comfortable staying in front. I lost out to Heikki in the strategy call during the safety car period, but that was in the best interests of the team, and as we are again ahead of our nearest rivals, we’ve achieved what we set out to today.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “An excellent two car finish and once again we’re the best of the new teams. Both drivers drove strong races and Jarno had a particularly good start. Once the safety car came out we made a strategy call to keep Jarno out as we knew it would be a short period behind the safety car and this was the right strategy for the team. Unfortunately this meant Jarno lost a place to his teammate, so apologies to him, but we got the call right for the team. Heikki drove a good strong race to the end. He was bottled up behind Di Grassi at the start, but once he’d got past he was very comfortable running to the flag. All in all a really good result, and a very good day for the team.”

Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: “It was a very exciting race and moments like this are the ones you want to cherish. We made a very good decision with Heikki when the safety car came out, and both he and Jarno drove really well to keep their positions to the end. It’s a great day for the team, and I’ve just given Tony a challenge – let’s see you beat that next time you’re on the pitwall!”

[press release from Lotus Racing]

July 27, 2010

German Grand Prix Review

Race day in Germany began with Lotus Racing Chief Mechanic Phil Spencer, Deputy Team Principal Kamarudin Meranun and Chief Executive Officer Riad Asmat paying their respects to Team Lotus legend Jim Clark at his Hockenheim memorial, but it was a disappointing Sunday for the team after both Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen recorded DNFs. Jarno Trulli had a strong start and was running 15th, but retired on lap four after a gearbox problem brought his race to an end. Heikki Kovalainen was running well in the race but was forced to retire on lap 60 after a coming together with de la Rosa’s Sauber.

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) “I made a very good start and then suddenly I lost the gearbox and unfortunately that was it. We tried to reset it in the pit and I went out again but it didn’t work, so I think it was a mechanical issue with the box that brought the race to an early end. It’s very frustrating because I was having a very good weekend, probably the best of the whole season so far, and it’s like the luck just isn’t with me. We’ve got another chance next weekend so I hope the luck changes there.”

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) “A disappointing end but it was just one of those things that can happen when you’re having to let cars past. It was my mistake but I didn’t see the Sauber coming. I thought I was letting the Williams past, and didn’t see the Sauber so I closed the door and that was the end of the race. It’s a shame because I was running pretty well until then.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Ultimately a very disappointing day. Jarno lost second gear and had to retire and Heikki had to retire after contact with de la Rosa. Both cars made good starts – we started Jarno on the harder tyre and Heikki on the options to split the strategies, but Jarno’s race was over before he’d really started. Heikki drove a strong race and was comfortably leading the battle of the new teams before contact forced him to retire. Despite this it was still a strong showing from us, and now we move on to Hungary.”

Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Team Principal: “It’s frustrating because we’d had a good weekend, in practice and qualifying. Very unfortunate for Jarno, and Heikki was doing well so it’s disappointing to see he couldn’t finish the race, not due to a mechanical issue, but because of an incident that was out of our control. So, even though it’s sad, we’ll pull through, and we’ll do a better job in Hungary.”

[press release from Lotus Racing]

July 20, 2010

Lotus Racing German Grand Prix Preview

Over 120,000 fans are expected on race day at Hockenheim, and, for many of them, seeing the green and yellow Lotus Racing livery back on track will be an emotional moment. The team itself is excited about the next round of the 2010 FIA Formula One™ World Championship, and is looking to build on the strong two car finish they enjoyed last weekend at Silverstone. The layout of the track should suit the T127 better than the flat-out dash around the Northamptonshire countryside, and with the experience they have on both sides of the garage, Lotus Racing is again looking forward to taking the fight to the teams ahead.

Dieter Gass, Lotus Racing Sporting Director “We’re all looking forward to Hockenheim. Obviously the circuit is quite different now from how it used to be in the past – then, it was an extremely difficult circuit on which to find a decent set up – long straights that took you into the forest and then slow corners in the Motodrom stadium section meant it was hard to find a suitable compromise between downforce and grip – you don’t have to make such a big compromise anymore because the straights simply aren’t as long now. But, you still don’t run maximum downforce here – you take a bit of wing off to take account of the straight, and give the driver the chance to overtake at the end of that, in turn six.

“I think our car will suit the circuit well. You have a different speed profile than Silverstone, which didn’t really suit our car, but in Hockenheim I think we’ll be better off. We had a big update package in Silverstone which we couldn’t exploit fully as we were lacking running and setup time, so we’ll be looking to get the best out of that in the Friday and Saturday practice sessions. We’ll be able to play with the ballast a bit more here as well, which will help us find a better balance, and the team have spent some time in the factory this week practicing pitstops, so we should see the times come down in Germany. All in all it should be a good weekend.”

Heikki Kovalainen (Chassis T127-01) “Germany’s always a good race – Hockenheim’s usually hot and the fans make sure there’s a great atmosphere around the whole circuit. The stadium section in particular is amazing – with all the horns blowing, the flags flying and the odd flare being set off, it feels like you are in a football stadium or something. That makes it a great place to watch from if you’re a spectator, and for the drivers it’s cool – we can see all the fans packed into the stands and it looks pretty hardcore.

“The circuit itself is pretty good. You can overtake at the end of the long straight at the hairpin but there aren’t many other places where you can get past. It’s relatively hard on tyres and in the past the heat has made the tyres blister, but we shouldn’t get any of those problems with this year’s tyres. Bridgestone are bringing a super soft and a hard, so there should be a clear performance difference between the two – we’ll see how that shapes up over the weekend.”

Jarno Trulli (Chassis T127-04) “Hockenheim has some real history and in its old guise it demanded a lot from the drivers, in terms of setup, driving and in getting all the little details right. However, now it’s a more conventional circuit, and while I like it, I preferred the old layout. I was on the podium there a while back, and I won the German F3 Championship there many years ago, so it does hold a lot of good memories for me. It’s always hot when we go there, and the fans are very passionate, so I hope we can put on a good show for them, and show what Lotus Racing is all about.”

Riad Asmat, Lotus Racing CEO “Firstly it was great to see Fairuz in the car in Silverstone on Friday; testing is obviously extremely limited so it was good for him to get some experience and practice in the car. He certainly deserved his time in the cockpit but mechanical problems unfortunately meant he didn’t get as much track time car as he could have – we are running him in FP1 in Hockenheim instead of Hungary, so he’s getting another chance to show what he can do a week early and it’ll be good to see him back on track again in Germany.

“I was in the car with Tony on the way to Silverstone on Saturday when he reminded me that it was at the British Grand Prix in 2009 that he first met Mike and the Lotus Racing dream began. He was quite nostalgic and was telling me that a year ago he couldn’t drive in certain places around the track without the sticker on his car, whereas now he is a Team Principal he can go everywhere! Well, almost… He has built so much out of the dreams he has pursued, with success of course, and he believes that Lotus Racing is another opportunity that will be a success. Last weekend was a year to the day that this adventure began, and now we’re already looking five years down the road and how far we can go.”

[press release from Lotus Racing]